Tokushuna Noryoku Shoujo Special Ability Girls!
by ShonenViolenceFTW
Summary: During the 1950's, an experiment was carried out on random people by a mysterious organization. Few survived, but they would never be the same. They had gained Special Abilities. Hisao Nakai attends an academy for those with powers. This is his story.
1. Prologue

Prologue

During the 'Fifties' era, a young South Korean man was one of the first few to obtain a Special Ability. He was

a part of a controlled experiment executed by a criminal organization known as The Movement for Human

Evolution(M.H.E), a group whose identity remains a secret.

Only 19% of subjects survived the first test.

For the second test in 1968, M.H.E decided to test on some of their own members as well.

This time 25% survived.

Their are no records of their possible later experiments. This led most authorities to believe they disbanded.

However, some believed they still existed in secret.

Their beliefs were proven true in 1989 in the sudden appearance of 'Special People' now known as The Special

Explosion. Soon academies started to form in order to teach the younger ones to control their power.

This event also gave rise to the U.N funded Special Crimes Unit, a global task force centered around

apprehending criminals with Special Abilities. This unit is headed by Shaun Gulliver.

However, sometimes their targets would be either too strong or clever(or both) to be captured. Most notably

the M.H.E.

Their decade-long campaign against them would end though, with the help of a certain Japan-based academy.

That academy is Y.A.C.S.A: Yamaku Academy for Children with Special Abilities.


	2. Chapter 1: Hisao's Arrival

Chapter 1: Hisao's Arrival

* * *

><p>"Ah, so this is it", said Hisao Nakai, as he walked into the academy."It's a lot bigger than I thought."<p>

He stood there pondering on how he got transfered to this place. He had been diagnosed with Arrhythmia since

the age of 5. A friend of his, who just unlocked a Special Ability, used it to heal him before she left for the

academy she was enlisted to.

Some years after that, Hisao was involved in an accident. He was taking a walk to the nearby library when a car

suddenly swerved and hit him, knocking him unconcious. His parents had been contacted and they feared the worst,

only to learn that he had miraculously fact, the accident caused him to gain a Special Ability of his

own. An accelerated healing factor. This ability led him to recover in a few short days.

The driver of the car was nowhere to be found.

He was about to step forward and cross the road when he was stopped by a cane, and just as suddenly, a truck

drove by. Hisao turned and thanked the person who saved his life and was shocked out of his mind."Thank y-you?"

It was a girl with a large black bow tying up her hair. She was also wearing a bandages that completely covered

her eyes.

"No problem. Are you a new student?"

"Uh, yeah. First day",said Hisao, still a bit shocked.

"I see. Well then, let me show you around."

"Err, okay."

"I'm Lilly Satou, by the way."

"Oh, I'm Hisao. Hisao Nakai"...

;;;;;;

As they journeyed through the halls of the academy, Lilly pointed out various points of interest, like the

library, the cafeteria and his home room for class 3-3. Along the way he met Shizune Hakamichi and Shiina Mikado,

who everyone just calls Misha. Shizune was the president of the School Council and the only other member was...

well, Misha. They only saw glimpses of the other students as they didnt seem to be notice them as they just walked

by with only a "hi" or "hey".

Both members were in Hisao's class, as he found out later, and Lilly was in class 3-2. There werent many

interesting people in his class besides Misha and Shizune, who was mute(Misha was her enterpreter). In the hallway he

even saw a girl with no arms.'Wait what?',thought Hisao.

Later Hisao found Lilly and asked her about the girl. "Oh, her? Well, that's Rin Tezuka. She had a terrible

birth defect that caused her arms to be little stumps, but then, she also unlocked her special ability when she

was practically a toddler. We call it 'Phantom Limb'".

"Phantom Limb?"

"Yes. It's a little bit like telekinesis mixed with psionic or ectoplasmic manifestation."

"Eh?"

"Err, she has ghost hands."

"Oh. Wow thats cool!... Say, what's your ability?"

"My ability? Well, I can see without my eyes."

"Without your eyes?"

"Yes"

"...So...what do you see with?"

"My mind, I guess."

"..."

"Is something bothering you?"

"Uh n-no, no it's nothing!"

"Oh. Allright then see tommorrow"

And with that they parted ways.

* * *

><p>_(chapter 1:end)_<p> 


	3. Chapter 2: Emi and Hanako

Chapter 2: Emi and Hanako

The next day, Hisao arrived to school and met up with Lilly. He had befreinded her the day before as well as

Misha and Shizune(somewhat). Things have been going well at the new school so far, even if it was for only a

day. Together they walked in silence for a bit, until Lilly spoke up.

"Hisao-"

"Hmm"

"-I'd like you to meet someone. She's the newest addition to this academy aside from you, and she's been here for

almost a month now."

"Oh okay. What's her name?"

"Hanako Ikezawa."

"... Okay, I'll meet her."

"You will? Thank you, it means a lot to me."

"It does? Howcome?"

"You see, she doesn't really have any friends besides me, I'd really like her to have more companions. I feel

it would be good for her, maybe it'll help her open up to people."

"I see."

"Oh and don't ask her what her power is."

"Why?"

"It's a very touchy subject, she doesn't like to talk about it. The least I can tell you is it has something

to do with her traumatic past."

"Oh... That bad, huh."

"Yes..."

And so they met Hanako. She was quite shy, mostly staying in the shadows of the library. Her hair covered most

of right eye and the rest was covered in a slanted bandage that acted as an eyepatch. She didn't really say much

and seemed somewhat afraid of people other than Lilly. Hisao thought that was kinda cute, but didn't say anything.

Later, Hisao was walking to class when someone ran into him. Literally. At full speed.

"Oof!" "Ouch!"

"Uh sorry!"

"It's okay",said Hisao, dazed.

She helped him up and they introduced themselves. She was Emi Ibarazaki, she was on her way to class.

She seemed normal, except for her legs. They were clearly robotic and the feet were like those of a dinosaur or

dragonlike design. She loved running with these feet of hers.

After lessons, Hisao was shown where he would be staying until the holidays, as his parents felt that the distance

coupled with his father's work would prove a transport problem. They let the academy's boarding system take care

of that. As Hisao was introduced to his new hall mate, Hanako was watching from the shadows. She was curious about

the new boy, since he befreinded Lilly.

;;;;;;

Elsewhere, Rin and Emi were sparring, as they usually do. They were also discussing Hisao.

"So did you meet the new guy?", asked Emi, parrying a straght hook.

"Not exactly. I've only...seen him... in in the hallways... a few times...",said Rin, letting fly a combo of punches

and kicks. Her Phantom Fist ability allowed her to manifest a pair of gnarly looking arms,almost demonic in

appearance. They were red in colour and had the consistancy of cold plasma(well, colder than plasma should be, it

was still at her body temperature, if not higher).

They finally ended their session with a fist and a kick from Rin and Emi respectfully, resulting in a minor shockwave

that kicked up a lot of dust.

;;;;;;

That night, Hanako had that dream again. The same dream that caused her so much pain so long ago. She lay awake in bed,

shivering in fright. As much as she tried, she couldn't get that voice out of her mind. That horrid voice that kept

calling her by name in a mocking tone.

"hanaaaakoo..."

"Hanaaaaakooooo..."

"Haaannnaaaaakkkooooooo!"

It wouldn't stop...

_chapter 2: End_


	4. Chapter 3: Conspiracy Theories

Chapter 3: Conspiracy Theories

"I'm tellin' you man," said Kenji Setou, Hisao's hallmate,"they're planning something against us men!"

Hisao didn't know how to respond to that, or to anything said by the bespectacled boy for that matter. Kenji had

more 'knowledge' of conspiracies than anyone in the world(according to Kenji), a fact that Hisao felt was held more

and more credibility each day.

The 'they' he was referring to were the School Council. Or more accurately, Misha and Shizune. What was worse was

when they walked past while talking(signing rather) to each other and greeted Hisao, Kenji believed they were targeting

him. His exact words however, were: "you're in deep shit, Hisao."

"Oh c'mon you're just saying that."

"No seriously, first, they're going to seperate us, then they'll initiate their master plan, and then..."

"And then what?"

"All our base will belong to them!", he said, his face taking on a haunted expression. Hisao just looked at him funny, but he didn't notice.

With that, they headed to each of their homerooms.

;;;;;;

Later that day, Hanako and Lilly were having tea, when Lilly asked Hanako if something is bothering her.

"U-uh, no nothing.W-Why do you a-ask?"

"Well you seemed a little more frightened than usual."

"frightened? Why would I-I be f-frightened right now?"

"You're shaking quite a bit, you can barely hold your teacup. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Y-Yes I'm fine." She couldn't bring herself to admit the truth. Soon, she wouldn't have to...

After lessons for that day, Hisao was headed to the library for some fiction, when he ended up in a hallway he had

never been in before. It was deserted, and the only thing that stood out was a painting. A very odd looking painting.

It didn't seem to fit in with the academy. It creeped him out. He couldn't see any name on it or anywhere near it,

and when he finally went away, he couldn't help but feel that the painting waswatching him leave...

She had that dream again. That same acursed dream. It was starting to become more frequent, and this scared her to no

end. She knew she had to tell someone, but for the life of her, she just didn't have the courage to do so. Yet she had

to do something, she knew this much. This was because events were about to repeat themselves. Terrible events that rendered

her a shrinking violet.

Much like that night, the headaches started, mainly above her right eye...

_Chapter 3:End_


	5. Chapter 4: Missing

Chapter 4: Missing

The next day Hisao woke to an academy thrown in panic(to a certain extent). He wondered what caused this, and decided to

find out. He found his hallmate's door open, which meant he had to go ask someone else. So he left to go find him. He'd

definitely know what's going on despite his... quirkiness, or so he reasoned. Along the way he heard small bits of

information that told him someone was missing, and this worried him for some reason.

He soon found Lilly and straight away he knew something serious went down. She was sitting on a bench, sobbing uncontrolably.

"Uh, Lilly, what's wrong?"

"Oh dear god, something terrible happened! She-she's...",Lilly couldn't finish her sentence, as she could only cry.

"What happened? Who did what?"

"Hanako. She's... gone..."

"...W-what do you mean?"

"She's...gone missing. We don't know where she went."

"Do you think she was kidnapped?"

"No, no she wasn't."

"And how do you know this exactly?"

"Because of this...". She handed him a letter.

Hisao couldn't believe what he read.

_Dear Lilly_

_If you're reading this now then I have already left. I'm not sure where I'll go, but don't worry, I'll find some way._

_The reason I left is because I didn't want to hurt you or anyone else at the academy. You were my only friend there_

_which is why I don't want to hurt you like I did to my parents. They died in that fire because of an evil inside of me,_

_and it's starting again. If I gain control of it I promise I will return, but if I don't, then please forget about me._

_I'm sorry, I truly am._

Hanako

Hisao was shocked. He didn't believe that hanako would write this, even if Lilly comfirmed that it was her handwriting.

He of course didn't know her very well but he just couldn't se it happen. But then he wondered...

"Is she talking about her Special Ability?"

"That's what I think too."

"Nurse, you asked to see us?"

"Ah yes, Emi and Rin hello. I take it you heard about Hanako?"

"Yes"

"We heard it from Lilly"

"sigh poor girl. Anyway, thats the reason I called you up here. The others should be here soon"

The two best friends were confused. 'Others?',they thought.

Just then, the door opened again, revealing the Student Council members: Misha and Shizune. Misha

seemed a little less like herself at the moment. Following them was Lilly and Hisao,who had been summoned telepathically

by the librarian. None of them knew what they were here for, so Nurse explained.

"Ah, since all of you are here, I'll get right to explaining everything. The reason I assembled you is the sole purpose

of finding Hanako. That's right all of you are going to help find her and if necessary, subdue her.", he explained.

"Subue her?", asked Lilly,"Why would we need to subdue her?"

"... I take it she never told you about her history." Everyone just looked at him, perplexed. Until Lilly brought out

the letter. " I see, and she never mentioned anything to you before?"

Lilly shook her head no. "She always said she didn't want to talk about it so I just didn't pursue it."

"Well in any case, I do know about her ability. These things show up when we take DNA samples from someone to Identify them.

Now is a good time you all knew about it too."

"Well, what is her ability?", asked Misha.

"Advanced Pyrokinesis."

"Elsewhere, police had found the charred body of one Yaro Hebi, a notorious thief who usually 'worked' at night.

He was discovered by a young man who wished to remain anonymous. He stated that he saw 'a pillar of unnatural fire',

a description confirmed by some eyewitnesses. He followed the source to the site and was possibly traumatised by his findings."

The above news report was completely missed by the search party, but soon they wouldn't need it...

_Chapter 4:End_


	6. Chapter 5: Discovery of a Horrible Truth

Chapter 5: Discovery Of A Horrible Truth

Later that day, the team began to track down Hanako with the aid of Kenji, who's Special Ability allowed him to view bits

of the past from touching objects, even stones on the ground. This allowed them to locate Hanako's whereabouts from last night.

Misha was especially enthusiastic, as was her wont.

"Hmmm... that's weird...",said Kenji to himself.

"What's weird?",asked Hisao.

"Hanako. She seemed to be suffering from a headache. Also her demeanour was gradually changing, like she was turning into someone

else on the inside."

"You think it has something to do with her Ability?",asked Lilly.

"Probably."

This worried the search party. They didn't think they could handle the loss of a friend,but that just meant they would try even

harder to get her back.

Soon they arrived at the site of a crime(at least that's what it looked like to them). No one was present so they thought they'd

carefully climb through the yellow 'police line' tape(Misha said that they should be detectives or something). Kenji then knelt

down to get a glimpse of what caused the burned crater. As he did so, the others hoped that Hanako wasn't hurt, or worse.

"O-o-oohh my god...",stammered Kenji. everyone immediately feared the worst.

"What is it Kenji?", asked Nurse.

"This is where Hanako fully 'changed'. This is terrible, as bad as the possible plans of the Student Council!", this earned

him glares from both members and lesser glares from the non members.

"Er the thing is, this new Hanako actually caused this. It's a murder scene."

"What?", Lilly was clearly disbelieving of this.

"I'm sorry but the past doesn't lie. She's gone nuts, I'm afraid."

"No..."

"Lilly, I'm not sure what to say, since I didn't- don't know her very well, but I'm sure we can bring her back!"

"..."

"Lilly?"

"..."

"Leave her be, Hisao. She'll snap out of it eventually,", said Nurse,"Now Kenji, if you can, show us where she went to

from-" *FFOOOOOMMM*

They all heard and saw it. A blood red column of fire out in the wasn't too far away, so they ran towards it,

even Lilly. And when they got there, they found her.

Indeed, Hanako was the cause of the fires. And she had just killed another person.

_Chapter 5: End_


	7. Chapter 6: Evil Hanako

(A/N) I wonder if anyone might do some fanart for this story...

Ahh much too soon for that. Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: Evil Hanako<p>

* * *

><p>Hanako was standing on the roof of a building, smiling at them. Only it wasn't Hanako, it was her darkness.<p>

She had removed he eye-bandage and all her hair had been pushed back. Her smile was simply... evil.

Her eyes had changed the most. They didn't even look human now. Instead they were demonic in appearance, completely red

where there should be white, pupils that were black slits instead of round, and they seemed to glow.

Her new appearance shocked them all, but Kenji had it the most; he fainted.

Lilly just stood there overwhelmed by fear and sadness. She couldn't see her exactly, but she could feel her-its presence.

She could feel its insanity. At this point she was reminded of the works of H.P Lovecraft.

Evil Hanako (as she was now known in this form) raised one of her hands as if to throw something. Then, her hand ignited into

blood red flame. As her hand moved down, Nurse screamed;"DOOOOOOOOOOODDGGE!", prompting everyone to scatter. As they did,

the fire that landed where they were exploded!

"Shit now what do we do!"

"We take her down that's what! Rin, are ye ready?" , asked Emi in a Scottish accent.

"Yup!"

"OK!"

Emi was on the ground, her hands beside her supporting her weight, while her mechanical legs hung in the air. Rin jumped onto

Emi's feet and activated her ability, manifesting her phantom limbs. The hands were bigger than before, in fact they were bigger

than people's heads! As Emi drew her legs back and Rin prepared herself to attack, they both yelled out; "Cannon Shot!"

And with that, Emi used her legs to launch Rin at Evil Hanako, who (un)fortunately dodged the attack. Rin's fists had left

a huge crater on the roof! Hisao's exact thoughts were; "What. The. Fuck?"

On the roof, Rin stood facing Hanako. Hanako wasn't smiling anymore.

"Who are you exactly?" , asked Rin.

"Wouldn't you like to know", said Evil Hanako in a demonic voice. This voice made Rin's blood run cold. Scratch that,

it made EVERYONE's blood freeze. With that, she lit her hands on fire. Rin responded by strengthening her Phantom

Fist power. "You can do it Rin!" , cheered Emi from the sidewalk.

Hanako attacked first with a flaming punch. Rin attacked almost at the same time so that their fists met, emitting

a shockwave that actually dislodged a few roof tiles! Hanako started a barrage of punches, but all were either dodged or

blocked by Rin. She got in a few hits herself but this Evil Hanako was tougher than the average fighter. Way tougher. 'Since

when did this become a boxing match?', thought Rin.

After a while, Hanako's slasher smile returned, "Playtimes over kid", she said to Rin. She then proceeded to engulf one of

her feet with a darker coloured fire. Then, she jumped up and axe kicked the roof, making a large hole in it in the process.

To the shock and horror of the others, both combatants fell through.

'Dammit!', thought Nurse, 'Why does she always sleep in late?'

'Nurse?'

'Ahh, there you are! Hang on I'll give you a visual.'

As the above went on in Nurse's head, the fight continued, but this time Emi was to join the fray.

"Let's show her why we were banned from Kyoto!" yelled Emi

"Let's hope we don't go too far." replied Rin, smiling while stretching her neck. Cracking sounds were heard from it

when she did that.

Evil Hanako was engulfed in flames. Emi's mechanical feet were glowing in certain places. Rin's fists grew to unsettling

sizes. Shit was about to go down.

* * *

><p>_Chapter 6: End_<p> 


	8. Chapter 7:The Librarian and the Tag Team

Chapter 7: The Librarian and the Tag Team

* * *

><p>During the search, Yuuko Shirakawa the librarian had slept in. She had just awoken when she could feel Nurse's thoughts<p>

trying to contact her.

'Nurse?'

In approximately 5 minutes she was brought up to speed on the situation. Rin and Emi were fighting Hanako, who had unleashed

an evil from within. She was to use her power to break into Hanako's mind and remedy the situation. She just couldn't

figure how until she had a look inside, so she decided to get in before planning anything.

Back at the warehouse, Emi and Rin were on the defensive as Hanako's Ability proved quite devastating. Their combo attacks

did have some effect on her. The warehouse fared the worst. Rin and Emi were not welcome in Kyoto for a reason.

"Emi!Rin!", yelled Nurse, "You need to knock her unconcious! Miss Yuuko will take care of the rest!". They nodded to show

that they understood. They needed to go into offence.

Emi went in first. Using her special legs, she blocked a flaming punch then kicked her several times. The last kick launched her

into a wall. Rin took over, her fists reducing size for increased speed. She ran over to a still recovering Hanako and proceeded to

rapidly punch her silly, driving her more into the wall bit by bit. The last punch, however, was caught by Hanako. Smiling sinisterly,

she threw Rin to the floor surprising her. She then jumped up and shouted "BURN-HAMMER!", landing on Rin with a flaming double

axe handle. Thankfully, Rin blocked the attack with a giant fist but was still driven into a crater."RIN!", Emi called out concerned

for her best friend. Emi then flying-kicked Hanako into the same wall, making another hole. She looked towards Rin for any signs

of life and let out a sigh of relief. Rin was still able to fight.

Yuuko was still trying to figure out how to get Hanako back without harming her, then she realised Lilly was nearby. So she came up

with a plan and relayed it to Nurse. He then prepared for it by telling one of the others to get a hold of Lilly when the time comes.

And so she prepared herself for the task at hand.

At the ware house, Rin and Emi attacked with a flurry of punches and kicks, while Hanako retaliated with fire. Lots and lots

of fire. Finally Hanako was backed into a corner, yet she smiled her evil smile. She then took an odd stance,her legs apart and her hands

forming fists while being drawn behind her( like charging a Karate punch ). The two prepared for the worst. Kenji woke up

at this point, delerious.

After a smirk, Hanako yelled "Kishin no hōkō!" while punching both fists forward. This unleashed a huge beam of flames towards Emi and Rin,

who fortunately dodged the attack. They were still burned slightly however, and their clothes took some damage as well.

The attack proceeded to destroy not only a wall, but an entire two story building on the other side of the wall!

At this point Kenji fainted out of sheer fright. Again. For he knew that all the buildings in this area were fireproof.

"Huff...huff... Dammit...huff... Missed." Hanako seemed tired out after using her attack. This gave the tag team a chance

to retaliate, and they knew just the technique to use.

Getting into an improvised position, they prepared to knock her out. hanako realised what they were doing, but it was too late.

"Sideways Cannon Shot", screamed the tag team. "Son of a **blaaaarrggghh**!", Exclaimed Hanako, interrupted by their attack.

As Hanako lost conciousness, Yuuko got into action, bringing Lilly into her mind with her.

"That was totally awesome! Wahahaaah~!" cheered Misha.

* * *

><p>_Chapter 7: End_<p> 


	9. Chapter 8:My Inferno

Chapter 8: Welcome to My Inferno

* * *

><p>The search party, after a trying day, headed back to the academy. Nurse was carrying Hanako piggyback style, while Hisao did the<p>

same for Lilly. Emi was helping Rin walk, as she took more damage between the two. Misha was talking excitedly with Shizune ( well,

signing and laughing, really ) about the fight.

Hisao wondered what happened to Lilly. During the fight, Nurse told him to stand by her when she falls unconcious. Hisao thought

he lost it or he was hearing things. And Lilly just stood there, as if her mind went blank at the sight of Evil Hanako. Even though

she was blindfolded, he knew she was extremely sad and distraught. He couldn't blame her. He didn't know exactly how she

felt, but he knew that your best friend suddenly becoming an enemy was downright terrible.

"Hey Nurse, what happened back there."

"One of the best fights I've ever seen man! first they were like 'Cannon Shot!' then this one went 'Burn Hammer!' and-and-"

"I meant why did Lilly collapse like that!", said Hisao really fast.

"Oh, that. Well... how do I put it... That was caused by Yuuko."

"The librarian? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Yuuko's Special Ability allows her to visit other people's minds. She can also take other people on visits with her."

"So she took Lilly into Hanako's head?", the boy was perplexed.

"Yep, that's pretty much the gist of it. Don't worry she knows what she's doing." This seemed to calm the boy down.

Meanwhile, in Hanako's head, Lilly had awoken with Yuuko beside her.

"Where are we?", she managed to say.

"We're in Hanako's mind. This way we can get her back, but it won't be easy."

"So it's true," she said dismally, "she really is..."

"Not for long, miss Satou, not for long."

With that, the two headed to the burned building.

Hanako woke up to a horrible sight. She was in the ruins of her old home. And across from her stood her Darkness. It still looked like

before, but it had armor this time, and no pupils.

Just then, the door opened.

Hisao was really worried about the three. When Yuuko 'visits' other minds, her body goes limp. Lilly was distraught over the whole thing,

and Hanako... well, you know. still, he felt he could trust in the librarian, the nurse seemed to do so.

All they could do now though, was wait.

Lilly was unbelievably happy to see Hanako again, she ran and hugged her for dear life. Yuuko was pleased. Then she layed eyes

on the evil standing in the room with them. Her blood ran cold as it smirked.

"Well well," said the Darkness, "who do we have here?"

"Name's Yuuko," said Yuuko, "and this is Lilly, Hanako's best friend."

"I see. Well then allow me to welcome you," the Darkness lifted her hands as if to show off something behind her, that something

being a huge wall of flames that surrounded the house, "to my Inferno! Gyahahahaah!"

"Oh shit.", muttered Yuuko.

* * *

><p>_Chapter 8: End_<p> 


	10. Chapter 9: Blackened Past

Chapter 9: Blackened Past

* * *

><p>After greeting each other with a hug, Lilly and Hanako turned to face the threat. Hanako was scared out of her wits, yet Lilly seemed<p>

determined to fight back. Hanako was her best friend, and she wasn't about to lose her to some abomination of the mind.

The being in question simply smirked at them, obviously enjoying their discomfort.

"Lilly, please don't fight! She...It's too strong!"

"Don't worry about me, I can handle myself."

"So, you wish to fight me little girl?"

Lilly simply nodded, materializing a daito in her left hand. Since they were in someone's head, it was possible. Probably.

Hanako didn't know this, she just stared.

Lilly readied her blade as the Darkness readied itself. Yuuko hung back out of fear and awe( mostly fear ).

Then they attacked.

Lilly struck aggressively, which was against her nature( as noted by Yuuko ) while the Darkness simply blocked. The creature couldn't

help but marvel at Lilly's strength and speed, she seemed a pacifist. It then punched her in the face. Lilly landed on the floor

then got up and attacked again, only to be put back down by a kick." Give up now little one. I like it better when my victims

squirm upon the floor, hihihihiii..."

"NEVERR!" With that she lunged at her opponent, finally landing a hit. This just made it angry however, yet happy at the same time.

She did enjoy a good fight. The monster jumped up into the air, shouting "Burn Hammer!" while executing the attack. Lilly blocked it but

the force of the attack sent her once again into the ground. Lilly didn't move.

* * *

><p>Back in the real world, 20 minutes had passed with no sign of either person waking up. Everyone was worried, yet they tried not to show<p>

it. Hisao couldn't help but feel he was missing something big.

* * *

><p>Hanako screamed at Lilly to get up. The thing in her mind just smiled a cruel smile." Do you remember? " it asked Hanako. " Do you remember<p>

their screams? "

"What?"

"Back when you were first unleashed. You did things..."

"No..."

"You killed them. Burned them. DESTROYED them! Hahahahahahaaa..."

"No!..."

"Face it girl. You're a murderer!"

"No! Shut up! Go away" Hanako cowered in the corner like a frightened child. Yuuko went to comfirt her but was interrupted by a backhand.

At this point Hanako noticed Lilly stirring. The creature looked and noticed too, and was confused. After all the crap it put them through,

she still wouldn't stand down.

" Why do you persist, human? Is it because of her? " it asked Lilly, pointing to Hanako.

"Isn't it... obvious?" said Lilly, leaning on the daito.

The Darkness just growled, then it smirked."You don't know her history do you?"

"W-what?"

"She killed her own parents, destroyed her own home. She was hated and feared at those orphanages and soon that negativity became sentient.

It became me" it said this with a smile.

"NO! YOU'RE WRONG! I LOVED THEM! THEY LOVED ME!" screamed Hanako.

"Oh that was just a facade. They never cared, and you knew it. That's why you had to set yourself free..."

"I-I get it now..." Lilly stepped forward.

"No you can't believe that... thing! It's not true, I swear!" she was was on the verge of tears as she said this.

"Not that. I just realized the truth. This thing was in your head since before your Awakening. When that happened, it took over. You're

not a killer Hanako. It was all this thing's fault!" she said, pointing her sword at the Darkness. Yuuko had helped on that one, she'd

later admit, by mouthing 'split personality' to her.

"What?"

"**You are not to blame**!" and with that, she attacked again, this time slashing its back. This surprised the demon, who retaliated with a back-hand.

This statement caused Hanako to remember the night of the fire. She had woken up to the ruins of the place she once called home. She spotted her

mother and father on the floor near her, burned to a crisp. She crawled to them in panic and found her dad barely alive.

His last words to her were: "Don't cry. You are not to blame."

He died with a smile on his face.

Since this was Hanako's mind, the event played out as an illusion in front of all of them. Everyone now knew her past. This took a lot of

weight off her shoulders. Suddenly, Hanako got up, a look of determination on her face.

This was the day Hanako would do something incredible. It would be remembered by her friends for all eternity.

She would defeat her Darkness.

* * *

><p>_Chapter 9: End_<p> 


	11. Chapter 10: A Sacred Friendship

Chapter 10: A Sacred Friendship

* * *

><p>"Hah! you think you can beat me? I killed people! What makes you think you can-" It was cut off by Hanako punching it in the gut.<p>

This was the biggest surprise of all for the monster. That had actually hurt. The punch sent it flying into the other wall. The inferno surrounding

the house seemed to lose a little power. Yuuko was shocked. She could tell where this newfound strength of hers came from. She was in her

mind after all. Lilly did the same thing just now.

She was fighting for a friend.

Lilly was just as shocked, but she was happy for her. She felt she could win.

Dark Hanako stumbled out of the crater. It (she) was really pissed. With a roar, she attacked with a flaming punch, but Hanako blocked with a fire

punch of her own. The flames produced by the real Hanako were golden white in colour and at radiated light. The gold-white flames burned stronger than

the dark red fires of her dark side. Its eyes widened when it found out, as it actually got burned.

"This-This doesn't mean a thing!" it growled before attacking once again. A flurry of different coloured fire punches and kicks were unloaded from

both sides, much to the awe of the apparent audience. A certain flirty chef would be proud. Watching this fight, anyone would say that it was

turning one-sided in favour of Hanako. Neither new any martial arts, but both knew how to punch and kick.

Lilly couldn't help but shed tears of joy. Hanako was strong, she had suspected. Just not this strong. The demon wound up back into the wall.

Hanako then surprised everyone further by asking Lilly to join her by her side. Lilly obliged. They didn't need to talk as Lilly understood what

Hanako wanted to do.

"What're you two doing? Double teaming me?"

Lilly pointed her daito at Dark Hanako. The original one put her hand on top of Lilly's. The attack wasn't just to finish her. It was to show it the

strength of their friendship. They named the attack; Shinseina nenshō ken. A huge blazing column of fire (in the same gold-white colour) launched

itself towards the darkness. The power of the attack blew Yuuko of her feet.

"Oh my GOOOODDD!" screamed Dark Hanako.

And so the deed was done. The darkness had lifted. All who bore witness to the event (OK, 1 clumsy librarian, but even so) knew that one of the

greatest of bonds was victorious today. The bond of friendship.

Yuuko looked around. She could not believe her eyes. the house was as good as new, apart from a few cracks here and there. The attack had blasted

Dark Hanako to smithereens. All was right with the world again. It was time to go home...

Over an hour had passed since they first went in. When they began to wake up they were suddenly bombarded with questions.

"What happened in there?"

"Is that thing dead?"

"Don't call her that thing!"

"What was it like in there?"

"Did you use an awesome attack to beat it?"

"What the hell is going on?"

"Why were you sleeping so late Mutou-sensei?"

And on it went, like a never ending interrogation story. But they didn't care. They had just been through some serious shit so they just needed rest.

thankfully, Nurse knew this so he obliged by sending everyone out so they can recuperate. Yuuko had already fallen asleep. Hanako and Lilly just sat in

silence, until it was broken by Hanako.

"Thank you." she said

"For what?"

"Everything."

Lilly smiled. Hanako had gotten stronger, that she knew. She wondered if she herself would do so as well. Hanako that this was so. She smiled back,

then they both gave in to fatigue.

Hisao wondered what happened in there. He couldn't help but worry about his new friends. He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Nurse.

"Don't worry so much, Hisao. Their spirits are stronger than you realise." and with that he walked away to see to his duties as nurse.

Hisao eased up, but at the back of his head, something nagged that that things would never quiet down for long...

* * *

><p>_Chapter 10: End_<p>

A/N: Shinseina nenshō ken: Sacred Blazing sword

Kishin no hōkō: Demon God's Roar

just thought you should know.


	12. Chapter 11: The Circus is in Town!

A/N: Man I hate Writer's block

Chapter 11: The Circus Is In Town!

* * *

><p>"Hey guys!" called out Misha, "The circus is in town!"<p>

Everyone looked at her, perplexed. Only Misha'd get this excited over the circus. Hisao had quickly learned (as did everyone else who knew her) she gets

excited over anything. Like Restaurants. Or the Yakuza. Or restaurants owned by the Yakuza."Its got elephants and tigers and clowns and even

jaguars! I-wanna-go! I-wanna-go! I wanna go!" Misha continued, jumping up and down. Everyone who saw this sweatdropped. Misha then showed them

the poster for the event. On it were the various animals and people that she mentioned, as well as a guy in a top hat who undoubtably was the ring master.

Written on the poster was "Mr. Creeve's Great Beast Circus!" along with the time, place and dates they, would show.

"Meh, sounds fun I guess" said Rin, using her foot to drink some tea. She probably wanted to paint all the animals and maybe the other acts. Rin was

like that. "We should all go!" said Emi. Then Rin voiced one of her confusing thoughts: "I wonder what would it be like if lif was like a visual

novel game..." It had the desired effect. Sometimes Hisao wondered if she did this on purpose.

And so everyone agreed to go to The Great Beast Circus.

On the following weekend, They went to the circus. They actually had fun, despite everyone's scepticism. Hanako didn't go though, she stayed behind to

see if she could bake with her golden flames with Lilly's assistance. Of the circus, the human acts were the usual fare. Tha animals, however, were

anything but. The guy had tigers forming pyramids, elephants dancing as if drunk, jaguars acting like house pets (Misha even petted one, much to the

worry of Shizune) and monkeys who could do the Twisting Tiger kung fu style. Hisao felt that this shit was not normal, but he didn't care.

He was having fun. When it finally ended, all anyone could talk about was the animals.

Once they got back they filled the others in on what they missed. Needless to say, they missed a lot. Hanako's attempts at baking were (mostly) successful

though, and they all enjoyed the fruits of her (and Lilly's) labour. That night, Hisao had a strange dream. He dreamed of the dancing elephants from the

circus, but they were coloured pink for some reason. There were even pyramids in the background at one point.

That same night, at the circus grounds, two figures were walking around,discussing something.

"Did you dress them up for tonight?" asked the taller figure.

"Yes sir. Just as ordered." said the second figure.

"Good. Good. Finally, my boy, our search is almost over. After this we can retire as the rich bastards we deserve to be!"

"Uh... yes. That we will." said smaller person uncertainly.

None of them knew of the third figure watching them intently. The figure stalked them from behind the tents. But when they neared the first animals'

tent, one of them, a jaguar, started to growl his way. The first two figures immediately turned back and spotted him. He started running. "After him!"

said the first figure who spoke, and the jaguar gave chase. He chased the man to a fence but he was suddemly trapped in ice that spontaniously formed

on its legs. The man escaped. The ice was weak enough that it could break free though. When it returned empty handed, the tall man just pointed at the tent

indicating no treats for him. The jaguar returned to its sleeping quarters dejectedly.

"Now what, sir?"

"We will proceed as planned. We'll just improvise when the time comes."

"Very well, "

* * *

><p>_Chapter 11: End_<p> 


	13. Chapter 12: Stolen!

Chapter 12: Stolen!

* * *

><p><em>" <strong>The Works of Yasuo Kuniyoshi Stolen!<strong>_

_Last night, at the Itami City Museum of Art, the entire WWII era collection of Yasuo Kuniyoshi were nowhere to be found. Nothing of this magnitude_

_has happened in the history of modern art. The only clues left at the scene of the crime were claw marks on the floor and the back door being left open._

_Sadly there were no witnesses to the robbery. Police are asking for anyone's assistance to-"_

The front page of that morning's newspaper came as a shock to everyone. No one would have thought anything like this would happen in their city.

People everywhere spat out some of their morning coffee in surprise. Including Nurse.

"How did this happen! What were those god guards doing? Eating sandwitches? What the motherfu..." Kenji had been ranting nonstop from the moment he saw the news article. He was at it for three hours now. Hisao just stood there not knowing what to do. And Rin? She went beserk. So did Emi. It wasn't pretty.

Everyone was thankful when they calmed down.

Rin explained her outburst by revealing that Kuniyoshi was one of her favourite artists and inspirations. Emi knew this, she was her best friend after they met up with the Council members to plan their own investigation. In the middle of their discussion, Kenji walked by. He then noticed them looking  
>at him.<p>

"What?"

The girls smirked evilly.

"Oh shit!" Kenji tried to run and hide. Emphasis on 'tried'.

Hisao wondered why he was here. He was guessing it was either natural curiosity or just bad luck. He knew this could lead to another hair-brained scheme

to get him to join the damn Council. Still, he thought,'might be fun'. Nurse and Mutou even joined in (they were bored you see). They planned on getting

Lilly and Hanako to join. There response was: "maybe".

The next day, a friday to be precise, all was relatively calm. Until Lilly was called into the Headmaster's office. She didn't think there was anything wrong

with that, except that she was told to bring any trusted friends with her there. Kenji feared for his safety as he was dragged up by the team. And when they

got there, there was someone else there with the headmaster. This person was dressed in a suit with a red shirt underneath the jacket. At first glance,

one would think it was a young man (even the voice sounded manlike). But this was in fact...

"Onee-sama!" cried Lilly.

"...ONEe-SAMA?" cried everyone else.

"Heya Lilly! Aren't you gonna introduce me to your friends?"

"Oh right. Everyone. this is my older sister, Akira." She started. Then she introduced everyone to her one at a time, much to the headmaster's amusement.

"So what brings you here?"

"Mission."

"I see..."

"Mission?" asked everyone else (besides the headmaster).

"Oh right, I forgot to add in that she works for the Special Crimes Unit." said Lilly, rubbing the back of her head.

"...WHAT?" Yelled the others.

"Yup. That's why I'm here. I hear there's a few kids who can help me in this academy,like a guy who can see into the pasts of inanimate objects.

Mind pointing out where he or she is?"

Everyone looked at Kenji, who shivered in fear. Akira sweatdropped at his reaction.

"S-So, what do you want our help with?" stammered Kenji.

'... I guess they can be somewhat useful.' she thought.

"We're going after the ones responsable for the theft of Yasuo's WWII collection."

Everyone stared at her dumbfounded. Except for Rin. She just said "Count me in."

* * *

><p>_Chapter 12: End_<p> 


	14. Chapter 13: Preparations

A/N : Please read & review, tell me what you think

Chapter 13: Preparations

* * *

><p>The previous day came as a shock to everyone. Lilly revealed that her sister, who the others mistook for a guy, worked for the SCU (Special Crimes Unit) and was investigating the recent theft of the Yasuo Kuniyoshi WWII collection. No one even knew she had a sister (except maybe Hanako). Rin was the most enthusiastic about the mission (already revealed why) with Emi and Misha in second. Kenji was scared out of his to him, Akira is also a part of the Feminist Conspiracy. Hisao felt both scared and excited at the same time. He didn't know what to expect but also that he couldn't do much to help.<p>

Lilly was training in the dojo, much to the shock of everyone.

"Didn't you guys know?" asked Hanako.

"What that she's a _Kendo master_?" yelled Hisao and Kenji.

"...Uh sh-she said that she was only a professional."

"ONLY A PROFESSIONAL?"

Hanako ould only scratch the back of her head and laugh nervously.  
>Rin and Emi were training in their underground bunker. They trained more vigorously as this was somewhat personal for Rin. The bastard did steal from a favourite (deceased, sadly) artist of hers. Emi knew how she felt. Emi would've felt the same if someone hijacked a DVD or comic book store. This thought also reminded her that she just had to get the new volume of One Piece later that week.<p>

Hisao also found something he could use as a weapon, but he wouldn't reveal it to the others yet...

Misha and Shizune were also training. It consisted soley of martial arts, mostly board breaking. misha's power helped them both. She could amplify other Abilities. She could also increase a party's durability, strength and speed, though not simultaneously. Still, it helped.

Elsewhere, a lone figure was standing around in a room, sorting out papers. Thats when Akira stood in the doorway, crosslegged and leaning on one side.

"Hey." she said to the figure.

"Oh hi! I heard you were in town, sorry I didn't see you sooner, but you know how paperwork is"

"Heheh, yeah paperwork's a bitch like that. So, how's life after quitting?"

"...Pretty good, actually. No one doubts my opinion or drives it into the floor. Sometimes it's also a lot of fun. Oh, if you don't mind, I'd like to keep

'that' a secret for now. I'm not sure how they'd react."

"Err okay, but I doubt it'd be too bad if they did find out. They seem fond of you."

"Yeah, I guess, but It's much too soon for that."

"Catch you on the flipside then" She waved goodbye and wandered off.

"...Yeah, see ya." He went back to the paperwork.

Meanwhile, in a certain circus tent.

"Hmmm. I believe we've stayed long enough. We should prepare to leave for Fukushima tomorrow."

"Yes sir. We've had quite a haul this time. And to think this was the first time Kuniyoshi-sama's collection was ever showcased in that particular museum."

"Ah yes, a sad thought, yet only a stepping stone for our future." The ringmaster snickered at this thought.

* * *

><p>_Chapter 13: End_<p> 


	15. Chapter 14: Confront the Offenders!

Chapter 14: Confront The Offenders

* * *

><p>Next day, they were ready.<p>

Ready to find the culprits responsible for the theft, to take back what wasn't theirs, to send them directly to jail, without collecting 200$, to-

"_WAKE UP_!"

Rin was startled out of her daydream by Emi. "Thanks, I needed that." Emi responded with a laugh. They were then called to by Nurse, who told them to hurry up. Akira had allowed everyone of Lilly's friends to come along, even Nurse. Rin and Emi made it to the Briefing Room (OK, so it was just the headmaster's office but who cares). They were the last two in. Now the team consisted of Lilly, Hanako, Hisao, Misha, Shizune, Emi, Rin and Nurse, all lead by Akira. Kenji refused to come, what with him being all kikkomori and all.

"Ah, good. Everyone's here. Now, on with the plan. Emi, Rin, you two head right from the entry point and along the boundary. Lilly and Hanako will go left.

Misha, Shizune and Hisao will cut through the middle. Nurse and I will head in through the back. Now, everyone needs to take care as we're dealing with many large animals. Best case scenario is that they're trained not to harm humans, but all bets are off on that. Remember, this is only a recon mission. We only apprehend the suspect if evidence to the crime is found. Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads in the negative.

"Good. Now once everyone is ready we'll head out. Crew dismissed. Oh and Lilly,"

"Yes?"

"Be careful out there."

Lilly simply smiled, then nodded.

Through out the ride to the undisclosed destination, everyone was silent. They were all going through the plan of recon. It also should be noted that it took place at night. Needless to say, the journey was uneventful. When they got there, Akira recapped the mission. Once that was done... it was go time!

The encampment was big. Comfortably big. This, combined with all the equipment placed every which way, made it easy to sneak through the place. Emi wasn't sneaking through the place. She was calmly taking a stroll with Rin, marvelling at all the equipment she found. Rin was just as 'unsneaky'. She was just walking through their planned route, deep in thought (possibly about how atoms go bling and blong when she puts the kettle on. Yeah, her mind's usually on another planet). None of them could detect a pair of eyes that watched and followed...

Meanwhile, Lilly and Hanako were sneaking around. None of them knew much about the place. They didn't let that stop them, though. Their resolve was strong.

Little did they know, however, they were being watched.

"Just think," said Misha, "this is the first mission of our new council member. We wish you luck, Hisao."

"I'm not a part of your Student Council yet." said Hisao with a sigh.

"Ah, you said yet."

"sigh... Don't you think some of this stuff looks familiar?"

Shizune nodded. According to her, some of the implements could only be used for entertainment purposes. This struck him as odd. Why would a painting robber need entertainment of this sort? Do they have a party after every hit? And why does some of it seem only fit for-

"Hello, intruders."

Awww crap.

Akira and Nurse jumped down and landed as softly as possible. They then snuck through and quickly found the main tent. On the tent was the word 'Ringmaster'.

They made sure they were as quiet as possible, sometimes they even went tip-toe. Once they entered the tent, they set about their assignment: looking for clues.

They looked in the nooks. They looked in the crannies. They looked in the bed that may belong to someone's granny. But eventually they found... nothing. They were disappointed.

"Shit. Nothing. How 'bout you?" asked Akira.

"Nope. Empty. How 'bout you?"

"So sorry, the man either hides things very well or he's innocent."

"Yeah. Guess you're right... Wait a minute... Oh. Shit."

As Akira and Nurse realize too late about the third person that Nurse confired with, a figure, shrouded in the light of the moon stood at the entrance. And he smiled a villainous smile.

Rin and Emi were continuing with their "unsneaking' when someone jumped in front of them, surprising them. It was a girl with long hair. She landed catlike, which oddly enough seemed natural for her.

"Hey, Watchya doin' here?"

"Taking a stroll." said Rin matter-of-factly.

"Through a restricted area?"

"What yew mean?" asked Emi in an odd accent.

"Err... It means we're gonna fight!"

"Fight?"

"Yeah, Fight!" she said, "And I'll take you both on!" she continued with a smirk.

This made the strollers happy. Tonight's mission just got a lot less boring for them.

The speaker stepped into the moonlight, letting the Council members (and Hisao) get a good glimpse of her. It was a young, petite lady, but her eyes were odd.

They were quite scary looking for some reason, even though there was nothing abmormal about them. Hisao took a step back in fear. He didn't know what scared him about her nor did he want to find out. Apparently, she also scared his current team mates (although they didn't show it as much as him).

"Hello and welcome. Due to your unlawful intrusion you will have to fight me in order to escape. If you lose, might die."

The entirety of team Shizune's jaws hit the ground in horror and disbelief.

Lilly and Hanako were quietly walking along their designated route, when Lilly suddenly stopped Hanako.

"Someone is watching us" she said. Hanako's eyes went wide.

"Indeed I am." said a person in the shadows, "Ya got good senses, Little girl."

Hanako gasped in fright as the person stepped into the light of the moon.

* * *

><p>_Chapter 14: End_<p> 


	16. Chapter 15: Reasoning

A/N: based this one guy off of Snoop Dogg. Don't know why though...

Chapter 15: Reasoning

* * *

><p>Akira and Nurse were eyeing the figure for any hostile movement. The man didn't make any yet. Until he moved his hand and pointed at Akira. Suddenly a huge lion ran into the tent and attacked! It launched itself at Akira and bit into her hand... then for some reason it cried out in pain and let go before any damage was done. The man at the tent's opening was surprised, until Akira showed him the reason: Her arm was protected by a coating of hardened ice.<p>

Elsewhere, Rin and Emi were fighting the catlike girl but neither side seemed to gain any advantage. They didn't use their Cannon Shot move as they knew she could easily dodge it. They also knew that she was no ordinary human, not by a long shot. Their wounds verified this; they were consistant with animal inflicted wounds. The two intruders then attacked at the same time but their attak was halted by the beast girl.

* * *

><p>"What's your name?" asked Emi.<p>

"Miki. And you?" responded Miki

"I'm Emi!"

"And I'm Rin."

"Pleasure to meet you!" said all three. Then they resume their fight with even more gusto.

* * *

><p>The council members were staring at their opponent defiantly. She was staring back with no emotion in the eyes at all.<p>

Hisao was desperately looking for a place to hide.

"Oi, Hisao! What the hell!" signed Shizune.

"It seems one of you at least know he is no match for me" said the creepy woman.

"Nah he's just a coward" said Misha cheerfully.

"AM NOT!" responded Hisao. Shizune silenced him with a glare.

She then proceeded to attack. The woman dodged with ease, which unsettled those watching (though you couldn't exactly tell with Misha). The two exchanged blows that would rival many a top martial arts student, but it was clear that the creepy woman was holding back. At this point, Shizune couldn't take it any more and joined the fray.

While Misha couldn't do that much damage on her own, With Shizune fighting along side her they were pushing back the woman, which surprised her greatly. Hisao couldn't help but stare, yet despite his new found respect (and fear) of the two Council members, he could see that Shizune wasn't as enthusiastic about fighting as Rin and Emi seemed to be. He wondered why, he was always somewhat intimidated by her strong willed personality, mostly due to his own passive nature.

As the fight continued, Shizune and Misha managed to drive their foe back, but they went too far with their assault and ended up breaking her neck! It left her head tilted to the side, Hisao felt like he was going to vomit. Misha and Shizune backed up in shock, Shizune almost catatonic. Her head seemed to be completely separated from one of the vertabrae in the neck, and that meant damage to the spinal cord. Despite the fact that she was still standing, there was a dead look in her eyes. This made everyone think she was killed.

That was, until she started moving her hands towards her head...

* * *

><p>"Why exactly are you doing this?"<p>

"I'm afraid you'll have to find out for yourself, my dear!"

"Don't give me that bullshit," Akira responded scornfully. "You must have a reason to do all this. What is it? Or are you really insane, Mr. Creeve?"

"I said find out for yourself!" said Mr. Creeve with a hint of anguish.

Akira was known in the SCU for her exceptional teamwork skills, however, a few in the task force also know her for her short temper. Akira now showcased it by attacking the man, creating a blade of ice in the assault. defended with his cane, revealing that it was harder and stronger than most. The ice-wielder attacked with an unrelenting barrage of blade and foot, yet the foe proved more than a match with his cane, unleashing a flurry of his own in defense.

While they were fighting, Nurse decided to search again. A growl behind him got Nurse to climb up a small pile of junk in fright. But from that height he could see that they had missed a few crates. He knew he had to search them but-

At that moment, the entire floor of the inside of the tent was covered in thick ice sheets, freezing both the lion's and 's legs. Nurse smiled and carefully climbed back down towards the crates. All the while Akira kept him busy.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Lilly, Hanako and the man were sitting in his trailer. He appeared to be in his late thirties, had long black hair put in a ponytail and an eyepatch. He also wore a black cloak over jeans and a t-shirt. Unlike the rest of the circus folk (so far), he didn't want to fight. He also knew of why was doing the things he was doing. Upon observing them, he decided to tell them these reasons.<p>

"You know why he is going though with all of this?"

"Fo' sho'." he said, "A long time ago he was the son of a baron somewhere in London. This guy was a cruel bastard, so his wife took their son, , to someplace else in England.

There they made a pretty decent living for a small scale family. Then he grew up, fell in love and so on and so forth. Then tragedy struck and his girl died from a terminal sickness. But it doesn't end there. You see, he had a son. The kid also ended up terminally ill, poor guy had no hope living past his teenage years. But then..."

"Then?"

"Then someone contacted him, not sure who, but the dawg gave him hope, a new surgical procedure that could cure his son. The only problem was the pricetag, ya see."

"So it's all for his son?"

"For shizzle. The thing is, I've met him before, and he wasn't the type to do this kinda thing. Most likely some evil dawg manipulated him into doin' it."

"..._What_?"

* * *

><p>_Chapter 15: End_<p> 


	17. Chapter 16: He Who Stole a Circus

(A?N) Aww yeah! 1000+ hits! but no reviews... :(

* * *

><p>Chapter 16: He Who Stole a Circus<p>

Akira had foresaken her ice blade for frozen gauntlets. They were more effective in this situation, she felt. And she was right, seeing how was being pushed back.

"Are you that persistant, young miss?" he asked the ice woman in a suit.

"What do you think?" she replied, followed by a right jab into the face.

The punch made him stagger backwards and fall onto his buttocks (he avoided getting his legs frozen) while holding his nose in pain. Then he snickered. Akira looked at him in mild surprise.

"What?"

"I admire your fighting spirit, milady, and so you have earned my respect," he said, then he got back up, "but don't for a second think that will favour you in this fight!"

And with that the fight resumed.

All the while, Nurse was rummaging through the crate as stealthily as possible. he couldn't believe it. He found the evidence! He wouldn't have known the difference had it not been for the fact that one of the paintings he had was one of three he saw in the newspaper. The lion was busy watching the fight. Nurse wondered what the hell was going on in its mind as he noticed this.

"Hey, if you're the snobbish type that loves to gloat, why don't you tell us how you got all of this together!" Akira suddenly asked.

"Hmm. Very well, I believe you've earned that much. You see, some months ago..."

(FLASHBACK)

")Sigh(... Vhat a good turnout today, ," said a man named Boshkov as he walked into the tent. He was well built despite the somewhat obvious beer gut. He was almost bald and had a large handlebar moustache. He was wearing half his ringmaster suit. "Pity ve have to leave this place. Ze crowd was amazing." he continued with a hearty chuckle.

"Damn straight, my man." said Mr Manes. Yes, it was the same man who was telling what he knows to Lilly and Hanako.

Just then, Creeve walked in, followed by a large jaguar. He sauntered up to the two circus performers with an evil smile. smiled back. He was happy to see the world's best animal tamer as he was part of his dream circus. Also, he didn't notice the smile. Mr. Manes had a bad feeling about this as he did notice it.

"Ah ! Good to see you finally got over your stage fright eh."

"Indeed. Er , I have something very important to tell you."

"Hmm? Vhat is it?"

"You see, the police want to speak to you. They want you to go to the police station. Immediately."

"Hmm, vonder what that's all about. Vell, can't be keeping them too long! Hahahaaa!" And with that said, he went to go get ready.

(FLASHBACK HALTED)

"Where are you going with this?" asked Akira suspiciously.

"At that time, cases of dissappearing children cropped up a few places near our circus. It's what they questioned him for. But the thing is he wasn't a witness, he was a suspect!" he finished with his patented villian's smile...

(FLASHBACK RESUMED)

"This cannot be! Why would he do such a thing?"

"I'm afraid I don't know. But the police say they have evidence-"

"Screw the evidence! Doesn't he get a fair trial? And what about us? What are WE supposed to do? WHAT?"

sigh... Look, you probably won't believe me, lord knows even I don't believe this happened, but before they took him in, he said... he... wanted me to tempararily take his place."

All the circus-folk stared wide-eyed in shock.

"Impossible! He would have left Manes in charge, not you! You maybe nice and all but you're new! He barely knew you, the same goes for us as well! What gives you the right to just waltz in and claim the circus to be yours, anyway?"

"Does anyone else think differently?" asked Creeve with a sad expression on his face.

That face slowly turned into surprise as one by one, the others silently sided with the accuser.

"...I see. Well I can't say I havent foreseen this, therefore I shall use plan B."

"What? What are you talking abou-?"

At that moment, several big cats and an elephant charged in and subdued the employees. They recoiled in shock and horror at this turn of events. They put (some) of their trust in him and he does this!

"Damn it! This was your plan all along wasn't it?"

"Well, yes in fact."

"You...You-You son of a bitch! We'll get you for this! You'll see!"

"I'm afraid not milady-"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT ANYMORE!"

"Dawg, I can't believe you just did this." Mr. Manes said , shaking his head.

"Heh, and yet I just did. Now..."

(FLASHBACK COMPLETE)

A low menacing growl came from behind Akira. Nurse stared at the tent entrance in horror. Akira slowly turned her head around and sure enough, a jaguar was staring back at them.

"Would you be so kind," said , telling them the same thing he told the circus folk all those weeks ago, "and help me feed my _jjaaaagg_?"

* * *

><p>_Chapter 16: End_<p>

A/N: Manes is pronounced Mah-ness


	18. Chapter 17: Loose Ends of Battle

Chapter 17: Loose Ends of Battle

Akira took a step back. The jaguar took one forward. Niether made a move ther than that. Nurse took one of the paintings in secret, made easy by the fact that no one was looking at him. looked at Akira expectantly.

Akira's facial expression changed from fear to determination.

Suddenly, the temperature dropped drastically...

.

The two on one fight was still going on. All three of them were going all out, as was their wont. This meant they would tire quickly, but they only seemed slightly winded. Emi busted all kinds of kung fu madness with her legs, while Rin went with thai boxing mixed with regular boxing. Miki on the other hand fought like a beast, which was probably because of her power. She was a beastman... err girl. Whatever. It seemed she was of the panther type.

During the fight they had promptly destroyed most of the equipment in the immediate vicinity. This had attracted a small crowd of circus performers who were betting on who would win.

"500 Yen on Miki-chan!"

"700 on those two!"

"850 on a tie!"

"1000 on an interruption!"

"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO MY TRAILER?"

.

"...And that's pretty much it." Mr Manes said after explaining 's motives. The two were silent for a minute, trying to take it all in. They wanted to help but didn't know how. " You can do what yall like with this info, I guess." He looked out the window. "I don't know about you but by the sounds of it, I think your friends might need your help."

Their eyes widened with realisation.

"Uh thank you for your hospitality, mister. Goodbye!"

With that, Lilly took off followed by Hanako. looked at the door left open in thought. He had a certain feeling from studying them. He was a good judge of character and he felt that they and their friends could make see the light.

Shizune and Misha looked on in horror. After the should-be-dead woman recovered from the fatal injury, she quickly bypassed the two martial artists and headed straight for Hisao.

She attacked but he dodged.

Or so he thought.

"Tae Kwon Do is not my only skill you know." she said, brandishing a bloodied throwing knife. "That was called Iai, if I'm not mistaken."

Hisao's eyes widened in both horror and disbelief. His shirt now sported a slit and his skin had been sliced, a cut maybe 9 inches in length. He fell to his knees and crouched down in pain. He would have screamed, but it was choked out. The Council members looked on in shock.

What happened next was a blur.

Hisao could not recall what happened later as he was in too much pain. Misha could not follow what happened as she was too shocked that something like Hisao getting stabbed would

happen. All they knew was that after it happened, the woman lay sprawled on the floor unconcious. Standing next to her, breathing heavily, was a scary looking Shizune.

"Uh, guys!" said Hisao, slowly standing up and showing them his torso. What they saw shocked the three even more.

.

Akira was visibly tired. So was the jag. Broken ice shards lay everywhere. Big cracks were even formed on the ice Akira made earlier. and Nurse looked on in absolute awe.

Even the trapped lion had newfound respect for the two.

Akira and the jag looked at them in confusion, both saying "What?" with their faces.

"That was the best fight _ever_." said Nurse and at the same time. The lion nodded in agreement.

Just then, Manes walked in.

* * *

><p>_Chapter 17: End_<p> 


	19. Chapter 18: Departure

Chapter 18: Departure

* * *

><p>Mr. Manes looked around in confusion at the apparent battlefield. Everyone else looked at him in surprise.<p>

"Aww double crap" said Nurse.

Mr. Manes looked at the new arrival and smiled. "Ah, good of you to come. No doubt you know what I want to ask you to do?"

"Yeah, I got dis Creeve." he said before leaving.

Akira wondered what was that about but her thoughts were cut short when Nurse ran for the exit.

"Oi! We need to get out of here! The bastards are definitely planning something so we need to fall back and regroup." He said to Akira.

"Your friend is right, though it doesn't involve any of you. I suggest you do as he says or it will." said menacingly.

Akira turned around and glared at him before leaving. 'Asshole.' she thought.

As Akira left, she pressed a button on her pager. This set off the other teams' pagers alerting them of hercourse of action.

.

"Son of a-" said Rin.

"Awww we have to go now." whined Emi.

"Damn. I was having fun too!" pouted Miki.

And so they went their separate ways, hoping they would see each other again. One of the audience members chuckled smugly as the others handed the money to him. Another person was kneeling beside the wrecked trailer, sobbing.

.

Lilly and Hanako ran towards the entrance. It was agreed that they would all meet up there beforehand. as they were running, Lilly caught a glimpse of Mr. Manes. He was tying up some brightly coloured ribbons to a large pole. it seemed to be the center of the whole circus grounds.

"Shouldn't you be headed on home?" he said to the two. They faltered

Apparently, they stopped running to look at what he was doing."Oh right! were sorry Mr-"

"No need to apologize, just move your asses on outta here, K?" he said, voice lacking any hostility.

They ran off without a word.

Once almost everyone was at the gate, they waited for a minute catching their breaths. Shizune's team showed up shortly after, Shizune herself looking very shocked as well as Misha. Hisao actually looked zombie-like, somewhat. They all wondered what could've possibly happened to them.

"Are you guys okay?" asked Akira. Shizune responded with a hand sign hurricane.

"Wait wait, slow down! Calm yourself and tell us." she said reassuringly. Shizune did so, and was about to explain when Misha interrupted, giving an explanation of her own.

"YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN IT! WE WERE FIGHTING THIS CREEPY ZOMBIE WOMAN AND SHE ALMOST BEAT US AND THEN SHE CUT HISAO AND SHIZUNE GOT PISSED AND BEAT HER SENSLESS AND THEN-"

"Wait, Hisao got what?" yelled Akira, Hanako and Lilly at the same time. This brought Hisao back to life.

"Miss Akira, are we in any danger?" he asked incredulously.

"Oh, right the signal. Yeah we should go, he's gonna do something big soon and we should definately not stick around!"

And with that they left.

They were about to get into the vehicle when Hisao turned back. What he saw made him stop, alerting the others.

"What is it kid?" Hisao just pointed, making everyone look.

The entire circus looked to be imploding in on itself. It was as if there was a black hole in the middle of it, and the circus was its victim, and nothing else. The infiltrators stood in awe at the sight as, befor their eyes, the circus dissapeared into nothingness.

But Akira knew better. She had recognised . He was the reason it happened. She now realised why there were still ribbons hoisted up on to was vital for there plan which had just unfolded before their very eyes.

"Dammit!" she exclaimed, "They escaped."

* * *

><p>_Chapter 18: End_<p> 


	20. Chapter 19: Hunting A Haunter

Chapter 19: Hunting a Haunter

* * *

><p>It was late morning. The sun shone brightly, birds were singing, the flowers bloomed... All in all, a beautiful day. Some people, however, were right miserable. Akira had just explained her findings to them, after talking in private with the headmaster.<p>

"Can't believe you almost got gutted." said Rin.

"Yeah" said Hisao, still poking himself with his finger where the wound should be. "Where's miss Akira?"

"Said she's gone back to the crime scene. See if they left something of use."

"Ah, right. Still, I can't believe it was That circus guy all along.I mean we had fun in there! And then this happened."

The night previous She had answered some questions from Shizune's team, only to confirm what they had feared. The one responsible was none other than the ringmaster of the circus they went to.

Even if they sort of figured it out already, it still came as a shock to them. By the expressions on their faces, it was evident that Lilly and Hanako knew this as well. Though when asked how, they just said they'd explain later.

.

Akira remembered that name from the SCUs wanted list. With his ability, he became the most elusive. Yet his crimes never went beyond those of a violent nature. Yet despite this he was a very good fighter

even without his ability. She knew this from experience.

(Four years ago)

It was her fourth mission.

Her fourth mission as a junior agent of the SCU. One of four with a 'climate class' Ability.

Her mission: Capture 'The Ghost Thief of New Orleans'.

They had very little to go on. He left virtually no evidence behind. But one day, he made a small mistake. He simply hit the wrong building. A building with a hidden security camera behind a one-way mirror. This camera captured him using his Ability, which may not seem all that grand but helped find a way to locate him anywhere within the city.

A report made that night said the following:

The way his power worked was, he makes a tear in space, creating a wormhole. The exit is made at any destination he chooses, though it is not known how he chooses it. He then makes the wormhole suck in anything he wants, including himself. The tape also shows that he needs to concentrate to fully utilise his Ability. We believe that a possible byproduct of psionic energy is expelled when he does this.

A few monthss prior, the reserch and development team designed and built a device that could detect this energy. The device was deemed a success, and so they used it in New Orleans, proving their theory right.

Now it was her team's job to capture him.

Damn, she thought, this is gonna be hard.

That night, they located Manes with their Psionic Wave Detector (They were pretty straight forward with their names) in a nearby jewellry store. A surprisingly close location, too.

The team was deployed, orders given, and Akira and her unit got to work.

As Manes was busy with robbing the place blind, Akira lead her team towards him in a flanking maneuver. Once in position, Akira placed her ungloved hand upon the floor. When Manes tried to move from his spot, he noticed it got considerably colder in the store. Then he couldn't feel his feet anymore.

They were frozen in a small puddle of ice.

Akira was about to signal the O.K to open fire, Manes teleported.

And reappeared behind her.

Shit!

Akira quickly moved forward, anticipating an attack. There wasn't one, but that didn't stop from ordering her unit to attack. All opened fire with specially modified p.42 automatics. Mr. Manes responded in kind by creating two wormholes in defence, causing the ammunition to dissappear and then rain down upon the attackers. Akira looked on in horror as a third of her unit was incapacitated. She turned back as he said "Yo dawgs, what the hell?"

Apparently he was as scared as she was, only he didn't show it. This allowed her to get some confidence back, leading them to a melee confrontation. Akira started things off with a punch to the face. Manes followed up with a spinning kick to the face. The kick was parried by Akira however, delivering a kick of her own to his knee. He stumbled backwards a bit but regained his footing, only to be kicked once again in the back.

This brought him stumbling back into the range of the gunmen, who fired the moment he was in their sights. He dodged all of them with the aid of his Ability. They reloaded as fast as they could, but this gave Manes time to recover. he quickly jumped behind the counter, knocking out one of the team. He took his gun an fired at the other man behind that counter. He ducked and avoided an attack from the four remaining

soldiers, then took aim and fired. One of them fell limp to the floor. The other ducked just in time, only to be caught by a kick to the face.

Soon, only Akira was left.

She would not go down without a fight, and neither would he.

* * *

><p>_Chapter 19: End_<p> 


	21. Chapter 20: Ghost Dogg

A/N: Y U NO REVIEW!

Chapter 20: Ghost Dogg

* * *

><p>The two warriors circled each other, preparing to strike at the first sign of an opening. Manes was fighting in order to escape capture, while Akira wanted revenge for her failures and her unit. Manes had shown a lot of skill when taking them down. This made Akira a little nervous, yet she did not show it.<p>

"Yo, girl dawg, we doin this or what?"

Akira answered with a swift side kick to the face, only for it to be dodged matrix style. Akira twisted around to albow him in the sternum. She followed up with another kick only for it to be blocked. Manes then rolled backwards to get out of her immediate reach. Manes then rushed in attacking with his palm instead of a fist. Akira blocked it with croosed forearms but was still driven back a little.

He followed that up with a side kick to her kidney area, knocking the wind out of her. He finished the combo with a spinning kick to the head, which Akira somehow just managed to dodge. Akira retaliated with a spining kick of her own, at a 90 degree angle. It got him on the chin, sending him stumbling backwards into the counter, hitting his head. Akira stood up from the exchange in a proud stance.

"Had enough?" she asked smugly.

"Not really li'l miss" he replied, getting up.

Akira's smug smile slowly turned into a frown. This was gonna be a looonng night. Akira advanced towards him menacingly, intent on inflicting untold damage. Manes took a defensive stance.

And they resumed their fight.

Akira attacked first again with a punch, only for it to be blocked by Manes' upward forearm. Akira then side kicked, aiming for the kidney. That was blocked too. She then unleashed a double spinning kick to the face, only he ducked under the first and caught her leg at the second. Akira's eyes grew wide in shock. Manes just smirked. Then with as much strength he could muster, he threw the unfortunate Akira onto the same counter he fell upon, causing numerous cracks to form on the glass. The air leaving her lungs, Akira could feel pain run marathons along her torso, pain and nothing else.

"Oh shit." said Manes. he had not meant for that to happen.

His eyes widened as he saw Akira pull out a revolver from a holster and aim it at him. He quickly teleported behind her to try and disarm her, but she anticipated his action and simply aimed behind herself, pulling the trigger.

"Dammit!" Said Manes as he stepped back onto the wall. As the embers of a deep sleep took him, he saw Akira gingerly get back to her feet. Damn she's strong, he thought.

Akira walked slowly to him, holding onto her midsection with her left arm. She looked at him and he smirked back. Suspicious, Akira aimed at him again.

Only to see him salute her and dissapear.

"...FUCK!"

She looked around in dismay. The damage was minimal. A few items were stolen still, no doubt before their arrival. She walked out her injury a bit, then contacted her superior.

Her only solace was that all the ammunition they used were tranquilizers.

A week later back at SCU headquarters USA, Akira and her unit were mostly done recovering from the failed mission. The place was buzzing with activity, secretaries ferried paperwork, men in black suits went to and from their offices, armed guards guarding the corridors and exits. Yep, this was definitly an HQ of sorts. The ice weilder and her superior officer were discussing the target. Namely what his motives were and so on.

"You have to admit, Agent Tundra, his power alone makes him a national security risk, if not a worldwide one. We don't even know the full extent of his-"

"I get that, sir. But I just can't see him up and doin' anything big like that. The jewellry store, yeah, but Fort Knox? The Louvre? I don't know man. I mean sir."

"Heh. I don't know, your instinct was pretty damn good up until this point. Weeellll, i guess we can see what he does next (if we can find that bastard).

So, whaddya think his code name should be?"

"What? Why do you want me to name him?"

"Oh come on, these guys can't come up with cool names if their lives depended on it. You have a youthful mind, something good should be in there."

"Hmmm. Now that I think about it, I would use the code name...

Ghost Dogg! Yeah thats it, Ghost Dogg."

Her superior nodded in agreement.

(Present Day)

Akira smiled to herself. Ghost Dogg. A fitting name indeed, she thought as she pulled to a stop.

Akira looked around, then gasped in utter shock.

Lying asleep in the field, in a mostly thawed pool of ice, was the once trapped lion. There was a note tied to its neck.

"Holy Shit!"

* * *

><p>_Chapter 20: End_<p> 


	22. Chapter 21: Stranger Days

Chapter 21: Stranger Days

* * *

><p>Akira walked to the sleeping lion, confusion and shock etched on her face. Cautiously, she tip-toed closer, little by little, until she was only a few meters away. Suddenly, the lion woke up, causing Akira to freeze (figuratively).<p>

The lion looked at her. She looked at him (it was a male lion. Had a mane and everything). Akira stood firm, yet for the life of her she did not know what to do.

At that moment, the lion started to walk towards her.

Oh boy, she thought.

.

Back at the academy, Rin paced back and forth while Emi ate a sandwitch in the cafeteria. The place was empty axcept for the two of them and a few others. Rin kept muttering "damn" to herself over and over, while Emi just looked on in slight worry.

"Err, are you oka-"

"Can't believe we got sidetracked. No offence, but that fight wasted time. Time I could've spent trying to save the works of Kuniyoshi-sama!" she raised her arm stump in a pose of victory.

"(sigh) Yeah, I suppose you're right. But how were we supposed to know we had a time limit or whatever? Shit!"

"Point. Man, ever since the incident I've been acting really out of character lately."

"How so?"

"You know. Bouts of anger, lashing out at people, random fantasies of violence. All of that."

"You never really lashed out at people. You were just as Rin as ever"

"Huh. Must've been in my head then."

"Yeah. Must've been." deadpanned Emi.

"... Hmm, might get a haircut soon. Look how long it's gotten." said Rin with a shake of her hair.

Emi giggled at the sight. She may not understand her, but she sure was fun to hang around with.

.

"Damn you are good at this game." said Hisao.

[Not too bad yourself. For a beginner.] signed Shizune, adjusting her glasses for added effect. She had just won a game of Risk against Hisao, who had only learnt to play two days prior. In one game. Misha was present, as always, to translate.

'Yuuupp', thought Hisao, 'stood no chance in Hell.'

"Well," said Hisao, "that's that. You win. Now as promised, I will help you with the festival plans. But not as a member of the council. I'm just helping out here."

Shizune nodded in agreement. This was fine with her. For now. She wondered if a certain swordfighter would finally pull through on a her deadline.

.

Hanako sighed, putting down her book. She couldn't possibly read now. not with everything on her mind at the moment. She decided to speak to Lilly, so up she got from her favourite corner in the library.

Lilly, as expected, was sipping tea in the empty classroom that they sometimes shared. Hanako strode in and took a seat opposite her.

"I take it what we heard is still troubling you, hanako."

"Y-Yes." she replied, "I do feel sorry for that man's son."

"As do I, Hanako, as do I. Amazing what lengths he would go. Not many have the courage to do that you know."

"I agree. Still, it is sad to think he could've been manipulated like that."

Lilly could only nod in agreement,though a scowl formed on her face (if you could call it that) at the mention of the word. It reminded her too much of the bespectacled tyrant.

.

As Akira drove back to the academy to report her findings, she could not help but to steal a glance back at her passenger. He was an untidy fellow. He had long hair, a scraggly beard and a docile expression as he looked around in curiosity.

Oh, and he was also a lion.

'Hoo boy,' thought Akira, 'I got some serious explaining to do.'

* * *

><p>_Chapter 21: End_<p> 


	23. Chapter 22: Debriefing

Chapter 22: Debriefing

* * *

><p>Everyone was flabbergasted. It was a good thing Kenji was stuck in his room, what with his hikkikomori tendencies. The reasons they almost died from shock strode towards them, not a care in the world.<p>

Akira had gone to look for clues, and came back with a goddamn lion in tow.

They now walked side by side, the big cat just advancing of his own accord, while Akira half-walked half-strutted onwards, hand in a pocket and whistling a tune. Hisao could've sworn that The Sopranos theme was playing in the background.

The lion seemed a little wary of them, as if it knew some of them were a threat. Yet it had to follow the orders of his trusted friend. Under no circumstances were he to fight these people, he had told him.

His upbringing was not harsh like others of his kin. He was not raised in the wild, therefore he had experience dealing with humans (if you could call it that). If he left them alone,they left him alone,simple as that.

Later, everone was assembled at the cafeteria. Akira then entered, though she was without the lion this time. Everyone almost panicked when they saw this.

"Umm, miss Akira?" asked Hisao.

"yes?"

"Where is your 'honoured guest'?"

"Honoured gue- oh! The lion. It's in the principal's office. He offered to take care of it for the time being. Now, about our little skirmish. I realize that we were not successful in apprehending the culprit but at least we know he is guilty."

"And this helps us how?" Misha translated for Shizune, though with the cheerful tone it does not come out as sceptical as intended.

"Because now we can go after him full force."

"Hang on, are you saying that we were only spying?" asked Hisao.

"Err... Didn't you figure it out before the mission? You know with don't be detected and what-have-you..."

"Even I figured it out." said Rin.

Hisao felt a right dumbass at that moment. But as he looked around, he saw that Emi was as confused as he was.

"Well, technically Hisao, it was a reconnaissance mission. And it can be deemed successful because as I said before, our target is the culprit. Now, some... odd information has come to light concerning our

foe."

"And how do we know that he is the culprit?" asked Emi. Akira smirked a little before answering.

"I'm glad you asked that. Nurse,if you please?" At her word, Nurse took out something wrapped in a maroon cloth. As he unvailed it Rin's eyes widened considerably, for in his hand lay undeniable evidence that the man was indeed reponsible for the theft. In his hand lay a painting by Yasuo Kuniyoshi. Nurse paraded it like a show and tell presentation.

"Rin?" asked Akira "Can you confirm that this is the work of one Yasuo Kuniyoshi?"

"... Damn straight."

This brought on a smug smile on Akira's face. But then it disappeared after a moment.

Akira took a moment to compose herself. clearly, this was not going to be easy to explain. After a few moments, she was ready.

"(sigh) Look. What I am about to tell you cannot be explained easily, so bear with me on this one."

They all sat there, drinking in the information provided to them by Akira. She explained why the lion was with her that day, seemingly abandoned by . She also showed them the note that came with the lion. She also explained her need for Kenji's help on this mission. needless to say, they were flabbergasted for the second time that day.

The man they were after had indirectly asked for their help.

* * *

><p>_Chapter 22: End_<p> 


	24. Chapter 23: Helping An Enemy

Chapter 23: Helping An Enemy

* * *

><p>(BEEPEEP BEEPEEP)<p>

The alarm went off, signaling the premature start of the day. Hisao groggily shut it off, wondering why the damn thing was even set on the first day of the summer holidays. He turned the other way to try and get back to sleep.

Then he remembered.

"_Shit_!"

He quickly got out of bed to prepare for the trip. He didn't have much to pack in the first place so he did not take long to get ready. Also, part of him really wanted to get something good before the damn cafeteria ran out.

After a rare delicious breakfast, Hisao took his stuff to the parking lot along with the others. out of everyone going, he had the least luggage. The most would belong to misha, whose suitcase, as Hisao noted, was about the size of a single door wardrobe.

'The fuck is that?' he had thought.

Apparently everyone else thought the same.

"Have a safe trip you guys!" said someone at the entrance.

"Thanks mom!" replied Emi.

'That's her mom?' thought Hisao, eyes bugging out,'_Damn_! She's a looker!'

As they drove to the airport, Akira briefed them on the mission. Apparently, they had to help the guy out of some kind of monetary problem, if what they know is correct. It also had to do with his son. So whatever shit needed to be done to get them out of this mess, it will be done. They will do it. Because they're the only ones that can.

A not so long drive later, they boarded their plane. Akira paid for the whole trip since it was within her budget to do so. Her job paid bigtime it would seem. As soon as all passengers were seated and the pre-flight check was done, they took off, headed to the land of the Tsars...

.

Elsewhere, Manes rested in a bed in a hotel. The escape took a lot out of him for had never transported that many things or people before with his ability. Standing at his bedside was a gymnast. She was worried about his health, but it seemed he would survive. She didn't want to lose her only friend in all of this...

.

In a nearby room, the young boy lay in his bed. He looked so peaceful as he slept, possibly dreaming a great dream, undisturbed by naught. For now. The man with the well trimmed facial hair sat next to him in a chair, holding the boy's hand in his own. He told him of his adventures he had so far, of his days in Japan, of who he met, of what he did. If it fell on deaf ears, he did not know, nor did he care. It let him feel at ease.

As the time for bed drew near, he finally stopped his story, and looked at the sleeping form of his son. Emotions could be read upon his face now, as there was no one else around. On most nights, it would usually be only sadness, with a hint of guilt. Tonight, however, something else was present on his face.

It was hope.

He kissed his son's hand before heading to his own bed. And so help him, it would never be a kiss goodbye.

* * *

><p>_Chapter 23: End_<p> 


	25. Chapter 24: Search And Assist

Chapter 24: Search and Assist

* * *

><p>"Man, I can't believe I'm in freakin' Russia!" said Hisao.<p>

"I know. The same goes for the rest of us Academy scholars." replied Lilly, pointing behind her at the rest. They, as any tourist, were looking around marveling at everything Russian.

They had just landed at Tunoshna Airport and had to rent an SUV to get to a hotel. As they drove on by, the students looked around in wonder at this and that. Finally they got to the hotel, a rather small,cozy place, not too small though. After they unpacked their things, it was decided to follow the instructions on Mr. Creeve's note. This required them to simply head to a certain spot in Yaroslavl. Which they did.

On their way there, Hisao could not help but feel nervous as this was the first time in his life that he had travelled so far from home. Also this wasn't exactly a vacation, if he really thought about it.

He looked around the SUV at the others. They were sightseeing from inside the car, as expected. However, he could see they were just as nervous as he was, if not more. Akira was the least nervous apparently. There was only determination on her face, and it seemed she was thinking about something.

.

"Are you sure you can help him?" Mr. Creeve asked into his cell.

"Yes of course. Are you sure you have the paintings?" replied the recipient of the call.

"Oh yes, definitely. Now when can you make it?"

"I'll actually be there in a few hours."

"... I see. Well then see you then." He ended the call.

As he paced around his quarters, he thought of ways to resolve the situation. The man he had just conversed with promised to revive his son and relieve him of his ailments. But the price was indeed heavy. The bastard wanted priceless paintings, paintings that he would sell on the black market. Mr. Creeve had not stolen before, but he was willing to go to any lengths to save his son. He is all that he has left...

.

Manes continued to sleep. The girl had fallen asleep on the chair as well. Miki walked in to check up on them and found them like this. For some reason, she felt worried about the Ghost Dogg. She coudn't remember much of her past, but she was certain she never felt that way before. She shook her head and went off. It was probably something she ate.

.

"Okay guys we're here. Is everyone ready?" asked Akira.

"As I'll ever be" responded Hisao.

"Bring it on~!" bellowed Misha and Emi. Shizune facepalmed.

Rin and Hanako simply nodded, though they had totally different facial expressions; Rin was determined while Hanako was nervous, as well as somewhat scared.

"We're right behind you, onee-sama." said Lilly.

"Heh. You know you don't have to call me that."

Akira then turned toward the tent field. It looked exactly like before, only it was in the backyard of the Tolga Monastery. She then cracked her knuckles and stepped forward, while the rest followed.

.

At that moment, on the opposite side of the encampment, two figures entered. One was a tall, well built man, the other was a young girl.

"Do you know what to do?" asked the man.

"Yes, I need to heal the boy." replied the girl.

"Good, very good, Miss Iwanako."

* * *

><p>_Chapter 24: End_<p> 


	26. Chapter 25: Hisao's First Real Fight!

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Got sidetracked. Also lazy.

* * *

><p>Chapter 25: Hisao's First Real Fight<p>

* * *

><p>Akira led the group past the first two tents in silence. Confident in their abilities and that they memorized the plan of attack like before, she crept on in silence as the others followed. That was, until the woman Shizune and Misha had fought before stepped before them.<p>

"Oh" said Misha.

[You again?] signed Shizune, though when Misha said it, she sounded delighted instead of detested.

"Yes, me"

[You guys go on ahead, we'll take care of her.]

"I already fought you two. Now I wish to fight the boy."

Everyone was surprised by this gesture of evil. Not only was it ill-timed, it was viewed as a cowardly act of vengeance.

"You two may watch the fight though." the woman suddenly said.

The others hesitated, but nodded reassuringly at Hisao and left. The poor boy was on the verge of full on panic (as indicated by his knees barely supporting him from all the shaking they were doing).

SHizune and Misha stood in the sidelines mentally cheering him on. When he looked back at them they gave him a thumbs up sign as Misha said "Kick her ass!". He nodded at them, then turned slowly to face his opponent. Despite his having a pair of cheerleaders (if you could call them that) at his side, the fact that they were much better fighters than him as well as well as being hopelessly outmatched still weighed heaviest on his mind. Now if he could just stop his God! Damn! Knees from shaking!

"Well?" uttered the woman. Hisao, pulling up courage from not even God knew where, forced himself from shivering in fear and took up a makeshift fighting did not notice her reaction to it but if he did, he'd know that for some reason she seemed disappointed in him.

Only one thought lay in his head:

'I'm gonna die...'

.

Manes finally awoke. For a moment he could not recall how he got to bed or why he was so exhausted in the first place. But then he remembered. He did not anticipate anyone to be at his bedside when he awoke, as everyone was made busy for their "guests". So he was surprised to find someone snoozing on a chair nearby.

What surprised him more was that it was the only other lone wolf in Mr Creeve's employ, Miki.

.

"Relax a bit. I won't kill you." said the creepy woman.

"Really?" asked Hisao, brightening up at the fact that he most definitely was not going to die.

"Really" she said.

"Really really?" he asked, double checking.

"Really times infinity." she deadpanned.

Hisao started muttering a silent prayer of thanks, only for him to receive a quick jab to the nose. This startled not only him but the bystanders as well. As Hisao fell on his bottom, Shizune and Misha glared at the woman. "Hey!" wailed Misha,"That's against the rules!"

"Screw the rules, I'm a villain!" was the reply.

It was at that moment that Hisao punched her in the nose. Shizune looked at him in surprise while Misha practically jumped for joy at this new development. Hisao, for his part, was just as shocked as Shizune,

if not more so. When he looked at his opponent though, he instantly paled.

She was smirking.

.

"What are you doing here?" asked Manes.

"Huh? Oh! you're awake.I was asked to keep an eye on you until you woke." said Miki.

"Yeah, nice job dogg." he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah whatever" she replied, lack of interest bordering on infinite.

"Heh."

.

"Come on now you can do better than that!" said the woman whose name annoyingly remains unknown. Hisao just took a hesitant step back, causing her to roll her eyes at him. Just what did she expect from him anyway? He was a pacifist for goodness sake! And for that matter, what the bloody hell had he been thinking, agreeing to come to Russia in the first place? Sure, it may have been the prospect of visiting a whole other country that made him do it, but God damn it that was definitely not worth dying for! But then he remembered...

She promised not to kill him.

If he could hold her that, he might get off scott free, and something told him there was a good chance it'll work.

And so Hisao's first real fight began.

Hisao closed in with surprising speed, startling his foe long enough to land a shot to the gut. This seemed to have the desired effect, but not for long. She retaliated with a glancing blow to the top of his head. Hisao instantly stepped back , crying out in pain. After regaining his composure, Hisao rushed in, a little slower this time, unleashing a barrage of punches and ending the combo with a side kick to the kidney area. The kick however, was blocked just in time.

Though Hisao did not have much in the way of fighting skill, he still got a few hits in. The woman was no slouch either. Unfortunatly, Hisao tired out quite fast, while the woman just stood there smirking.

Things were not looking up.

.

Akira was leading the pack along when Lilly spoke up.

"Akira?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Hisao will be okay?"

"Don't worry about it. He's got the student council members, remember?"

"Oh. Right"

And so they continued their trek in silence.

.

Miki had left Manes to his own devices once she heard they had visitors. Now that he was alone, he had time to think. He needed to get their guests to meet the one who manipulated Mr Creeve, as he was certain that this person, or perhaps even the organization they represented were not to be trusted.

He looked to his left to find an energy drink on the bedside table. Upon descovering this he smiled a little. He was not exactly a hundred percent but he could move, and like before in his past, that was enough for him.

* * *

><p>_Chapter 25: End_<p> 


	27. Chapter 26: Blade Crossings

Chapter 26: Blade Crossings

* * *

><p>Akira leading the team had its advantages. Not only were they making good time, they avoided further confrontation so far. But there was still some distance to go. They all thought that things were starting to go their way.<p>

The swordsman stalking them from atop a flagpole thought different.

"Excuse me", he said, drawing their attention, "I believe you are trespassing."

"Aww, son of a bitch!" exclaimed Akira.

The man drew his sword, a large two-handed claymore, and took a fighting stance. His poise suggested he was no amateur, and a fight with him may take ages to complete.

"Go." said Lilly.

"What?"

"Go! I will handle him."

"I will stay too." said Hanako, "J-Just in case."

"No! Lilly, we can get this done faster if we work together. You both may be sword fighters but-"

"You need to conserve your energy for the primary target, Nee-san! Now go!"

"I... Fine Let's go you two. And Lilly?"

"Yes?"

"Don't die. That's an order."

"Acknowledged" Both sisters smiled a bit when Lilly said that.

The minute they had left, the swordsman jumped down to ground level with surprising grace. He was blond with no facial hair, suggesting he was trained in the art of the sword at a very young age.

Lilly, however, was the same.

"Hanako, can you keep a secret?"

"Yeah. What is it?" She had a bad feeling about this.

"I told my sister I brought my bokken."

"And?"

"I lied."

And with this revelation, the sword fight began.

.

Shizune could hardly bare to watch the sight before her. Her newest friend was getting pummeled in a fight, and all she could do was watch helplessly. She and Misha had agreed to not interfere, yet she was reaching her breaking point. And yet...

And yet a small part of her mind could only see this as a training exercise.

.

Manes was feeling slightly better. Sure he was still a bit woozy but the energy drink had rejuvenated him for the most part. All in all, he was fit. Not fighting fit but, you know. As he walked, he made sure his feet did not make any noise. It was why he was wearing only socks. Soon, he could see his destination ahead...

.

The two newcomers entered the bedchambers of Mr Creeve. The girl seemed confident in her abilities. The man, who appeared to be her handler, was as stoic as ever. Yet his very presence seemed to have an adverse effect on Creeve. The two adults shook hands as a greeting, and then spoke...

.

The two sword masters cut and slashed at each other furiously. Neither gained ground on the other nor had they landed a hit. Two completely different styles of swordsmanship clashed, on gracefully swift, the other strong and steadfast. Soon, they paused for respite. both breathing a little harder.

"What say you that we end this childish game?" asked the swordsman from Russia.

"Of course. This playtime will never get us anywhere" responded Lilly.

The practice session ended the minute the fight resumed. Lilly rushed in with a side cut, which the man barely dodged. He rataliated with a downward thrust, driving through her guard and cutting her shoulder. She immediately executed another side cut, this time connecting. The claymore wielder brought in a side cut of his own, which Lilly ducked under. Using the momentum, the swordsman unleashed a brutal side kick which would have beheaded her if not for her trusty daito. After this short exchange, the swordsman switched things up a little. He now wielded his claymore like a tonfa, a feat that was pretty much unheard of. Hanako's eyes widened in fear at the sight of this.

The swordsman's new fighting stance proved difficult for Lilly to counter. It was evident in the numerous scars all along her arms. His speed had almost doubled from before. He could switch from tonfa mode to 1-hand-sword mode in the blink of an eye, even switching hands with utmost ease. Lilly did land a few hits here and there, but none that were exactly effective.

'Blast it, I can't get near him! Ever since he switched to this unheard-of style his speed and agility have increased ten-fold! If this goes on for any longer then the flow of battle will-

'...flow?...'

_'...flow...'_

The Bloodflow Style. So far, Lilly was the only one in this world to master it. Because she was the one to create it. Preparation required a special handcuff which attached to her Daito, short enough that she wouldn't

lose control of it, yet long enough to extend her reach significantly. Once this was complete, she would assume a lax stance, one that seemed uncaring, sloppy, drunken even. But some looks are meant to deceive.

Puzzled by this strange stance, the swordsman lunged forward, aiming to pierce her arm. She simply bent out of the way, using her sword like an extended arm, she brought down the blade to cut his shoulder. Then his leg. Then his back.

She wasn't even holding the handle of her daito.

Hanako looked on in both awe and terror. That slasher smile on Lilly just did not help.

The swordsman stood no chance. He knew he was about to die as he saw the blade move for his neck. He shut his eyes tight to prepare for the pain.

Yet there was none.

Opening his eyes, he looked down to see that the blade had stopped just short of his throat.

"You are defeated." said Lilly, as calm as ever.

Both he and Hanako let out a sigh of relief.

.

Akira had anticipated another distraction. Just not of this magnitude. Dozens of big cats standing in the way of victory, A terror-inducing sight indeed.

And leading them all, was...

"Yo! Miki-chan, whats up?!" Yelled Emi delightedly.

"Yo, Emi-chan! Good to see you again!" replied Miki just as loudly.

"...Huh?" was all Akira could manage to say.

* * *

><p>_Chapter 26: End_<p> 


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